Bella Cat

Hello lovely people, sorry this is later than expected! I went to castle combe this weekend for the French car show. I had planned on posting this up on Friday but we got stuck in traffic! and then on Saturday we got stuck in traffic coming home! Nightmare! Anyway, better late than never folks! 

Today's blog is all about my Bella cat. Shes 10 years old and has a brother called Timmy. We acquired them from one of my best friends when they were only 7 or 8 weeks old. When they were kittens they came with a St.Paddy's day hat which they slept in together! It was super cute! 

As she grew it was clear that she was pretty much my cat, she would sit on me whenever she could, follow me around the house and sleep in my room at night. Despite the fact it was my mum who use to feed her. 

When I was in secondary school I had a pretty tough time, it's a pretty weird thing to say and explain, especially to people who have never had animals, but during that time I really felt as if she was always there for me, when friends came and went she was always the 'person' who was there. Not because she lived here and because she had no choice but because she had the whole of the house but spent her time with me, curled up on my lap or by my feet. Even if I was having a bad day and she was no where to be seen, if I was upset she would know and come and curl up with me. Now people without animals will probably think "yeah right whatever she was probably hungry or wanted a stroke" but that wasn't it, it was different like the fact she was there wasn't for her but for me.

She is still my cat even now, now shes 10! Although slightly more annoying, she'll come and find me and just meow constantly until she's stroked. She has these 'kneading boxers' on my bed, which are (or were) brand new boxers she took a liking to and have been hers ever since. In all honesty though, when she does start meowing for attention and pawing at my arm there the first thing I look for to shut her up for 5 minuets. 

Bella's getting a bit 'moany' in her old age, she spends the majority of her time meowing, eating or sleeping. She doesn't really go out much, only to go toilet or if someones out in the garden. She's very nervous and loud or sudden noises seem to scare the bajebus out of her! Especially carrier bags! She can't stand a carrier bag. She does have her scatty moments where she'll let out this really funny meow and go running through the house! It's hilarious, we have laminate flooring in the hallway and she'll go flying and slipping all along it! We put a carpet near the front door to stop them from smashing into it every time they had a crazy half hour, it works to a certain extent but sometimes they still hit it.

She sheds a lot of fur! Every time you stroke her you come away with half of another cat! She also gets quite bad eyes, they get all crusty and hard in the corners so I have to clean them regularly for her, which she's thankfully got more use to as the times gone on, she use to hate it!

'Touch wood' she's never been seriously ill, unlike her brother who seems to be accident prone! But I have a sneaky suspicion she has a condition called 'twitchy back syndrome' which is caused by stressed mainly. She's not great with the other kitty's, well actually saying that she'll have days where she's fine with them. Sometimes she'll be fine with Tippy curling up right next to her, and I would even go as far as saying she enjoys it! But other days, she can be so catty! (haha..get it...catty...sorry) She won't be having non of it from anyone! Some nights before bed Tink will go all weird and start attacking her, sometimes I'll have to break it up but Bella's quite a feisty little thing when she wants to be. I find Bella gets the twitchy back if there are a lot of people around or if something has changed. There isn't a treatment for it though apart from reducing stress in the environment which I try to do by having her sit with me which seems to calm her down. 

 Bella's not like normal cats in any sort of way, she won't eat 'human' food, like cooked chicken or cooked fish. She'd much rather have a cat treat. Its rare that she'll eat some ham, but normally if she does it's because I'm feeding it to her. I know cheese and cream is bad for cats as they're lactose intolerant but if I have cheese or pudding with cream I cant resist giving her some as she's my little Bella cat and gives me the eyes.

She quite likes to sit in or on something, normally a box, or a paper bag. If there's one or the other laying around you can guarantee you'll find her curled up in/on it. Give her an actual cat basket though and she doesn't even give it a glance, typical cat. She's a tad strange for laying on thing's and will often use things as a pillow. 

Her favorite thing being a toy scratchy fish, she'll have a play with it and then just resort to laying her head on it and having a sleep. She doesn't play much, only with a piece of ribbon or the toy fish really. Sometimes she'll make the most pathetic attempt to catch a fly, and I mean the most pathetic attempt! She'll be sitting there when it flies past her and she'll try and swipe it with one paw, and then decide she can't be bothered and just let it buzz around her.

She is a bit of a dopey cat but I love her none the less, even if she does dribble all over me, or take up half the bed! She's one of the oldest cats in this household and I think she copes pretty well with that. Bella and her brother Timmy are the first proper cats I really had and they've taught me so much about how cats behave and what signs to look for if their angry, sad or in discomfort. Not only have they taught me things but they've given me so many fits of giggles though their years and still make me laugh. 

If you have any questions about Bella cat, or any questions in general feel free to leave a comment below!

Thanks guys!

Cat

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